Foodie Friday

I'm the world's worst when it comes to diets. I love to eat but have very little willpower. However, the battle of the bulge can be fought valiantly, and deliciously, with spring rolls. They're baked rather than fried, which makes them heart-healthy as well as guilt free.

There are many recipes for spring rolls, but when I'm dieting, this is my tried-and-true favorite.

You can mix-and-match ingredients (and you won't go wrong). I like: bean sprouts, water chestnuts, carrots, peppers, cabbage or romaine, leftover rice, green onions, and ginger. I found broccoli in the fridge and broke it into tiny pieces (or tiny trees, as Bandwidth used to say).

Saute the vegetables in Pam and a little sesame oil. Add a pinch or two of Kosher salt.
Cook till the peppers, carrots, and onions are tender. Then fill the wraps. Spoon the veggie mixture into the center of the "diamond".

Fold edges of the diamond and seal the edges with water.
Starting at the lower, "open" end of the diamond, start rolling toward the other open edge. The first roll won't touch the filling--it'll be all wrap--but keep rolling and you'll get there. Seal the edges with a little water.
Set on a Pam-sprayed pan. Be sure to spray the rolls with Pam.
Twenty minutes later, supper is ready--or you can serve them as appetizers.

Each Nasoya wrap has approximately 56 calories. You're dividing the filling into 20 rolls, so it's very low cal(bean sprouts = 45 calories for the whole can and water chestnuts, 90 calories/can), even with 2 T sesame oil (45 calories/T). Romaine, carrots, broccoli, peppers, and onions --not even going to count them! I refuse. The soy sauce and chicken stock will add a few calories, too, but not many. Best I can figure (and I am horrid in math, so beware), each spring roll has 70 Gollum calories.

For a more substantial (but still reasonably low-cal) entree, add leftover rice (just use 1/2 cup if you are strictly watching calories), chicken, shrimp, pork, or ground beef.
Of course, the rolls can be fried, too, but I have to whisper that word around here or my fat cells will awaken and attack.

My mother used to save leftover rice and green peas, and the next day, she'd make these rolls for me, the Mistress of Pudge, and my skinny, salad-eating brother.

If you can find rice paper wraps, you'll save even more calories (3 rice paper wraps have 100 calories vs 3 for 170 calories in egg roll wraps).

Low Calorie Spring Rolls
Nasoya Egg Roll Wraps (1 lb or approx 20 sheets)
La Choy bean sprouts 1 14 oz can, drained
Reese sliced water chestnuts, 1 can drained and chopped
1 head romaine, chopped -- or cabbage
1 c grated carrots
1 chopped red bell pepper
3 green onions, chopped
1 c white rice, cooked
***
Spray Pam in the bottom of a non-stick pan. Add 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Heat on medium high and add vegetables. Add fresh grated ginger, if you've got it. 2 T soy sauce. 2 T chicken stock. Saute. Remove from heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Add Tabasco or hot red pepper flakes, if desired. Optional: onion salt, garlic powder--just eyeball it, just a pinch of each). Add 2 packets Splenda (I tried to get by with one. No luck).
At this point, you'll want to taste the filling (as you would cornbread dressing) to see if needs more soy sauce, salt, pepper, or chicken stock. Mine was very bland until I added Splenda and chicken stock.
Preheat oven: 400 degrees.
After your filling passes the taste test, you can make the rolls. Pour an inch of water into a small bowl. You'll need this to seal the edges of the rolls.
Find a large cutting board or spread waxed paper onto your counter. One at a time, peel back an egg roll wrap and set on the board. The wrap will resemble a diamond. (Note: the wraps are very thin and fragile and will tear.) Spoon in a tablespoon or two of filling in the center of the wrap. Roll once, maybe twice (depending on the filling's girth), then fold the sides, dabbing water on the edges so they'll seal--and all you need is a dab.

Continue rolling. Add water on the final edge and seal. Set roll in pan. Continue filling, folding, sealing, and rolling. The package will make 20 spring rolls.

Spray rolls on all sides with Pam. Bake 20 minutes or until golden. You can turn them over (I didn't), and the wrap will have a crunchier (harder) texture.

You can eat four wraps with low cal dip, salad (use the 1 calorie per spritz dressing), 1 cup (halved) strawberries (45 calories), 2 T. sugar free Cool Whip (20 cal), and you've got a meal for 300 Gollum calories.

Dips are delicious with wraps but they're filled with empty calories. Make your own sauce with reduced sugar jam (apricot or peach). Add dashes of soy sauce, hot pepper flakes (if you like your dip hot), rice vinegar, and salt. I love Captain Rodney's Hot Caribbean salsa (10 calories per 2 T)because it's fruity-hot like a traditional spring roll dip, but those tablespoons add up, so you might want an alternative.

Thanks to everyone who sent get well wishes to my husband. He had minor surgery today and is feeling much better this evening (though he's not quite ready to eat a spring roll!).

I had tremendous fun reading the answers to the "strawberry quiz." Mister picked the winner, who will receive a $25 Bed, Bath, & Beyond gift card.

And the winner is....

Carol in Indian Springs Village, for her answer to the quiz "the last time I bought strawberries":
"The last time I bought strawberries, I had a red ring around my mouth from sneaking them out of the package. And I thought of my late grandmother who, even when she broke out in a rash, would eat strawberries every day she could get her hands on them!"
More fun awaits as soon as I get my sweet husband back on his feet. Until then, the winners of the 2nd photo contest will be announced Sunday. Thanks to everyone who participated. The photos are awesome!

The 3rd contest starts at midnight tonight. This time we'll be doing mosaics. You can submit as many photo mosaics (any theme) as you like to the Foodie Friday Gallery and the Decorating Gallery.

The deadline is April 30th.

Mr. Linky awaits your Foodie Friday recipe. If this is your first time to participate and you aren't sure how to link, the Foodie Friday Info Page will explain. If you need more help, send me an email and put "URGENT--Foodie FRIDAY" in the header.